Chapter 185: Another Foodie Turns Up
Translated by Gumihou
Please read this at kitchennovel dot com
The creature she was speaking about was the octopus, of course, but the northerners called them ‘Overlords’. As for the blood sac, that was actually just bullshit she had just made up. She was actually talking about the octopus’ ink sac.
As expected, Lu Feng Yu was immediately interested. He nodded and said, “I know about this creature too, it certainly looks sinister, but is it really delicious? I must try it at the very next opportunity.”
“Surely there’s no need for you to eat them? If Teacher wishes to try it, you may take a bite out of your own flesh.” Su Nuan Nuan did not even bother to look at Lu Feng Yu’s direction as she kept herself busy fishing the rest of the noodles out of the pot, before adding more water to it.
Lu Feng Yu’s voice was wary, “Take a bite and I’ll know? What are you talking about?”
“If Teacher is the kind of person I believe to be, then surely your blood must be black too. Therefore, if you want to know the taste of Overlords, all you have to do is take a bite out of your own flesh. Save you a long trip north.” Su Nuan Nuan then placed the large bowl of noodles onto the stove and waved one of the huddling kitchen hands over. “Feed these noodles to the pigs, it’s not fit for humans anymore.”
Lu Feng Yu’s complexion changed several times. Thus far, he was the only one who casually insults or harm others. No one has ever dared to speak to him like this. While it was a small thing, he had clearly taken a loss this time. Though he looked like an unaffected immortal, he was still human and a foodie on top of that, therefore there was no way he could completely hide his true feelings. Finally, a wintry smile fell across his face and he nodded, acknowledging his loss, “Good… the little kitchen cook certainly has a mouth on her. However, your culinary skill is the real thing. This tiny side kitchen is too small to contain you. I’m afraid even the capital’s most famous restaurants and Imperial Kitchens might not suit you either.”
“There’s no need for Teacher to waste his breath on snide compliments. Surely you know how others see you? Moreover, how many times can you pop into this kitchen in a day? I have culinary skills and recipes on my side, do you think you can just incite disharmony with just that mouth of yours?” Su Nuan Nuan sneered. This line was enough to cause Lu Feng Yu to flounder for words.
“Ms. Wang, surely there’s no need to say this…” one of the kitchen hands ventured to say. Though Lu Feng Yu was not some good person, he’s still the master’s guest. Nothing good would come about from daring to cross these kind of people.
However, Su Nuan Nuan was unperturbed, “What are you afraid of? Did you not hear our master? He hates this guy, isn’t this the time to help our master ‘Throw rocks down the well[1]? I certainly don’t think he’d kick out an excellent cook like me over someone he hates. Even Teacher Lu himself said it, I’m too good even for the Imperial Kitchens. Isn’t that right, Teacher Lu?”
“You’re certainly an interesting one, hahaha!” Lu Feng Yu laughed out loud before whisking himself out of the kitchen. Privately, he wondered where on earth Su Dong Lou found such a daring cook? Wu! Perhaps this had all been arranged by him? For the purpose of making me lose face in front of those women? It was actually quite likely since I’ve always blocked his way to His Lordship. That idiot must have decided to use this ridiculous method to vent his anger on me after not being able to find my weak point.
At the thought of this, he made his way back to the dining room. He saw Su Dong Lou sitting at the table with his tea, at the sight of Lu Feng Yu he smirked. He made a little hehe laugh and said, “Well? You’ve actually gone off to freeload puffer fish? How was it? Not as delicious as you thought?”
Su Dong Lou had no idea what actually happened in the kitchen, but he understood Lu Feng Yu’s temperament. This villain would not be happy until everything was in a chaos around him. He’s the type to kick a benefactor in the teeth, jealous of a virtuous person and must have somehow insulted Su Nuan Nuan after eating her food. How many of his servants have suffered under the hands of this villain? Even if the number did not reach 20, at least 15 of them had been left virtually bleeding from that wicked tongue.
Also, from what Duan Tingxuan had implied, Su Nuan Nuan was not someone who would take insults lying down. If this villain tried to sow dissension between herself and her kitchen helpers, she’d definitely snap at him. Moreover, Lu Feng Yu had been gone for a suspiciously long time at the kitchen, which solidified Su Dong Lou’s theory.
However, Lu Feng Yu did not have the advantage of this foreknowledge or connection. At Su Dong Lou’s words, he became certain that, that crazy idiotic cook must have been following Su Dong Lou’s instruction to make fun of him. Curse this man, he really knows where to hit a person’s sore point, thought Lu Feng Yu: I’ve always been cautious and never entertained any worldly desires. My only hobby is just sharpening my tongue occasionally at these idiots. To think that he would use it against me… bah, it’s just a small thing. Let Su Dong Lou have his useless little jab. En, I’m not angry, not angry at all.
As he pondered over this, one of the maids set up tea and snacks for him. It was all the basics a guest might expect from their host. Lu Feng Yu would sometimes take a couple of sips of tea, but never touched the snacks. He and Su Dong Lou had never seen eye to eye or agree over anything. If he were to eat snacks in front of this man, wouldn’t that lower his worth?
And yet… today’s snacks were… for some reason they were different from the regular Schmaltz Rolls[2] or White Sugar Pastries[3]. Just what is that plate of pale yellow things? Also, why did they serve up Mantou[4] as snacks? Only, these are really small and deep-fried, could they really be eaten as snacks?
“If you can refrain yourself today, I will salute you.” Su Dong Lou noticed that Lu Feng Yu’s eyes had immediately fixed itself onto the plates and lingered there. To see this much proud and aloof loathsome character reveal such a yearning look was unexpectedly… cute? Before he could think too much of it, he blurted out this little challenge.
Lu Feng Yu stared at him, hesitated for a moment before asking, “What are these? Could it be the now famous Snow Soft Bean Paste Snacks? The ones I had at Hui Yan Restaurant aren’t as beautiful as these.”
“But of course, Hui Yan Restaurant is just ‘Drawing a tiger that ended up looking like a dog[5]’. I’ve been to the Capital’s An Le Restaurant and had the genuine thing.” Su Dong Lou sneered. An Le Restaurant was, of course, opened by the Marquis of An Ping house. The Snow Soft Bean Paste Snacks was one of the first things that were served there. Therefore, Su Dong Lou had no problem declaring them the genuine article.
“Oh? Are you trying to say that the crazy, daring cook you have in your kitchen was one of An Le Restaurant’s chef?”
Lu Feng Yu sniffed, but then a sudden suspicion rose in him. He remembered a secret report where Duan Tingxuan and Su Nuan Nuan were heading off towards Niu Tou Mountain. At that time, King Xiangyang was in all a tizzy, convinced that they might hear something incriminating from the Duke of Ping’s lips. He was on the verge of sending assassins over to kill the old fellow, but the Mountain was too well guarded.
Now that he thought about it, could it be possible that both he and His Lordship were wrong, and that Niu Tou Mountain trip was just a blind? Had those two people come to Jiang Nan in secret and was now even hiding within Su Dong Lou’s estate?
But then, it seemed a little unlikely. Duan Tingxuan alone he could believe it, that man was afraid of neither the heavens nor the earth. However, no matter how careless he was about his own life, surely he would not neglect his own wife’s safety? Even if he wanted to break the impasse, surely he would not actually bring his beloved wife over?
As his brain made the rapid calculations and thoughts, his hands automatically reached for a Snow Soft Bean Paste Snack. The moment he bit down, his eyes brightened. He quickly swallowed and asked, “This is truly the genuine article, could this cook really be from An Le Restaurant? I heard that An Le Restaurant guarded their recipes like they’re more precious than gold, until now no one could pry the recipes out. Just how did this cook get her hands on them?”
[Gumihou: Lu Feng Yu was a high speed computer brain until the moment he bit into a Snow Soft Bean Paste Snack… ERROR!]
[1] Throw rocks down a well – to hit someone when they’re down.
[2] Schmaltz Rolls – Schmaltz is rendered or clarified chicken fat. So, Schmaltz Rolls are essentially bread rolls made with chicken oil or Chicken Oil Bread Rolls, lol!
https://www.xiachufang.com/recipe/100631971/
https://home.meishichina.com/recipe-112256.html
[3] White Sugar Pastries
[4] Mantou is an actual word that people use in the English language, just like gyoza and sushi, so I’m going to use it in place of ‘Chinese Steamed Buns’
Here’s a youtube for very easy Chinese Steamed Buns
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GWUx99JWEw
[5] Drawing a tiger that ended up looking like a dog – make a fool of themselves trying to imitate something great
^_^
Translated by Gumihou from kitchennovel dot com.
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